Bill Gates, Zuck, and Gabe Newell Say You Should Learn To Be A Coder

For many, the idea of becoming a coder sounds like a terribly difficult if not esoteric thing, a skill set as exclusive as brain surgery or rocket science. And while being good at coding will open virtually an unlimited number of doors, it’s not as unattainable as it may seem.

Code.org is a website designed to both spread the word that there are tens of thousands of vacant jobs for programmers out there and also provide an “authoritative database of all programming schools” available, both online and at physical locations. You can also begin to learn to code right there on the website.

If you’re unconvinced, check out this video of smart and talented people telling you that you coding is something you should learn to do.

Look, if Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Gabe Newell all think you should consider coding as a lucrative and rewarding career path, you listen. (Not so much when Chris Bosh and will.i.am say it, but still.) There also appears to be a consensus that learning to code isn’t only valuable as a specific skill set, but also as a way to learn how to think and problem-solve, which are skills that are applicable to all areas of life and career.

Hadi Partovi, founder of Code.org, puts it succinctly in the video: “Whether you’re trying to make a lot of money, or whether you just want to change the world, computer programming is an incredibly empowering skill to learn.”

Learning to code at Code.org

Bill Gates first learned to code when he was in middle school, because some wealthy donor insisted that the kids have a computer lab. This was at a time when computers were simply not very accessible, and here Gates was as an adolescent with access to essentially the best computers that money could buy. Gates’ own brilliance and dogged determination made him a success, but what if he didn’t have computers on which to learn coding? Consider for a moment where the world would be without Microsoft as a tech company and then subsequently without Gates as a billionaire philanthropist.

The Internet is the most liberating innovation in human history since the printing press, and Code.org is a powerful way for anyone with an Internet connection (or access to a connected library or school) to tap into the skills needed to be part of the ever-growing computer technology field.

Coders can change their own lives for the better while also solving the world’s problems or developing new innovations; it’s an exciting time to be alive.